Elliptic Refutes Claims of Crypto Funding for Hamas Attacks

According to Blockworks, Elliptic has countered a Wall Street Journal report from earlier this month that claimed Hamas used cryptocurrency to fund its attacks on Israel. The report was cited by Democratic lawmakers inquiring about the use of crypto by terrorist groups. Blockworks previously reported that, based on expert interviews, the likelihood of crypto being used as a funding tool was slim due to the nature of a public blockchain. Elliptic stated in its previous report that law enforcement can 'successfully freeze crypto assets held by terrorist groups.' The Journal's report alleged that Hamas raised 'millions' in crypto, but Elliptic said there is no evidence to support this claim and that data provided by Elliptic and others has been misinterpreted.Elliptic further tracked some of the funds, noting that 'only $21,000 in cryptocurrency has been donated since Oct. 7, and thanks to the efforts of crypto businesses and researchers, much of this has been frozen — preventing Gaza Now from being able to use these funds.' Chainalysis called for a more nuanced approach when investigating how terrorist organizations potentially use crypto, after Senator Warren and 100 other Democrats penned their letter. Chainalysis wrote that it is much more likely that a small portion of the $82 million worth of cryptocurrency was intended for terrorist activity and a majority of the funds processed through the suspected service provider were unrelated. Crypto has been used to fundraise for humanitarian causes, such as Crypto Aid Israel raising over $185,000 in crypto and the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) enabling crypto donations a few years ago.